As June 2016 opens, ministers from around the globe are gathered at a number of meetings focused on issues that will affect the speed at which collective action can implement the sustainable development agenda.

As June 2016 opens, ministers from around the globe are gathered at a number of meetings focused on issues that will affect the speed at which collective action can implement the sustainable development agenda.

Energy ministers from the Clean Energy Ministerial’s 24 participating governments are in San Francisco, California, US, for their seventh meeting (CEM7), which is convening from 1-2 June. In conjunction with this meeting, the inaugural Mission Innovation Ministerial (MI Ministerial) will bring together countries that have committed to increase their support for clean energy research and development, and provide an opportunity for individual countries to highlight plans and actions under MI and announce new collaborations.

Ministers are also gathering for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Ministerial Council Meeting (MCM), from 1-2 June, to discuss how to achieve higher productivity and enhance inclusiveness, at the individual, firm, regional and country level.

The Eighth Environment for Europe Ministerial Conference will convene from 8-10 June 2016, in Batumi, Georgia, and will address the environmental dimension of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the pan-European region, among other topics.

These June meetings contribute to the efforts to increase momentum, learn about options and challenges that others have addressed, and establish the partnerships that will be required within and among all countries. The sustainable energy narrative, and work on the ground, will also be enhanced by a number of regionally-focused meetings in June, from the 3rd Arab Forum for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency to the Asia Clean Energy Forum 2016 and the EU Sustainable Energy Week 2016. In addition, the Group of 20 (G20) Energy Sustainability Working Group will convene for a third meeting, followed by another reunion of energy ministers at the G20 Energy Ministers Meeting.

Ministers are also gathering on 2 June, in Vienna, Austria, for the 169th Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) meeting. The juxtaposition of this event convening at the same time that the CEM and MI initiative are convening half-way around the world brings into sharp view the role that the principle of coherence will play in implementing the decisions taken in 2015.

During June 2016, follow-up on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development will focus, for many, on preparations for the July meeting of the High-level Political Forum (HLPF) on Sustainable Development. The National Voluntary Reviews to be presented by 22 countries have begun trickling in to the UN, and more are expected during June. These country reports outline the early actions taken and lessons learned by the submitting countries in preparing for implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Their efforts will contribute to the expectations for reporting and implementing the SDGs, and will draw attention as the international community evaluates the steps taken by these early movers. Meanwhile, the negotiations on the HLPF outcome document continue into June, and will also draw attention, given its expected influence on the HLPF’s agenda and work plan for the coming years.

Another event to follow-up on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was mandated by both the Addis Ababa Action Agenda (AAAA) and the 2030 Agenda. The Multi-stakeholder Forum on science, technology and innovation for the SDGs (STI Forum) is part of the Technology Facilitation Mechanism (TFM). This first STI Forum, taking place in New York, US, from 6-7 June, will seek to provide a venue for facilitating interaction, matchmaking and the establishment of networks in order to identify and examine technology needs and gaps, as well as development, transfer and dissemination of relevant technologies for the SDGs.

Still, other events in June will seek to contribute underlying projects and processes that could embed the transformative principles that the 2030 Agenda seeks to trigger in governance and decision making processes. The sixth annual meeting of the Wealth Accounting and the Valuation of Ecosystem Services (WAVES) partnership will provide an opportunity for WAVES countries to showcase the results from their work on constructing water, forest, minerals and ecosystem accounts, and to discuss how to move from having accounts to using them in policy and decision making. At the end of the month, the UN Global Compact (UNGC) Leaders Summit 2016 will seek to stimulate action by businesses on the SDGs. The Summit will include UNGC’s SDG Awards, honoring sustainability entrepreneurs and innovators who exemplify business “as a force for good.”

Lynn Wagner, Alice Bisiaux, Faye Leone and Lauren Anderson

We are pleased to bring you the Monthly Forecast. Please contact us with any comments or suggestions on this column. For more information on key sustainable development events in June 2016, please consult our calendar of upcoming events: http://sdg.iisd.org/events/. For information after these events conclude, visit our Policy & Practice knowledgebase: http://sdg.iisd.org/.

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